Travels: Venice and Murano

It's hard to believe that it's already been almost two months since we were in Italy.  Since a few of you asked to see more photos and to hear more about my travels, I decided I would write another post on Venice and Murano and one on Rome.  I also decided that I would show you some of my photos from when I lived in Madrid and from my trips to Mexico.  So starting tomorrow, I'll start doing a Worldless Wednesday feature in addition to my normal Workout Wednesday weekly recap. 

But for now Venice:  

Our last day in Venice, we went to the Cathedral of San Marcos. I have to say that it is probably the most incredible church that I've been in, and I have been in some pretty spectacular religious structures, like San Chappelle and Notre Dame and the Cathedral of Santa Maria de la Sede in Seville. The interior of San Marcos is adorned in loot brought back by Venetian Crusaders (especially from the disasterous Fourth Crusade) and gorgeous Byzantine-influenced mosaics, which glow in the light. 

The horses that adorn the roof are copies of the originals (now in the musuem).  The original horses are of an ancient but mysterious origin.  Some scholars date them to the 4th century BC and others to the 4th century AD.  They may have traveled from Greece to Rome to Constantinople (now Istanbul).  What is certain is that they were part of that loot brought back to Venice after the sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.  Later, in the eighteenth century, Napoleon took them to Paris, but they made their way back to San Marcos in 1815.

These are the replicas.  I saw the originals, but didn't take photos of them.  I just marveled at how many places they've seen, how much violence has brought about their various transports, and how they have survived so many centuries.

After a morning in the Cathedral/Basilica, we headed to the island of Murano by vaporreto and did some walking around, some glass shopping, and had a beer.

M. and I had considered taking a gondola ride, but to be honest it seemed more like a rip-off than a romantic thing to do.  So we just took the vaporreto through Venice and up the Grand Canal to Rialto.  It was far cheaper, and I think we got views that were just as spectacular.

Venice was the perfect place for us to begin our honeymoon.

Travels: Padua

My husband has a cousin who lives in Padua (Padova).  She is from Israel but has spent the past four or five years there, studying vetrinary medicine at the University of Padova.  Since it was only about a twenty minute train ride from Venice to Padua, we had planned on meeting up with her for an evening while we were in Italy.

Palazzo del Bo, one of the University of Padova (founded 1222) buildings

The Sunday that we were in Venice we called her to let her know that we thought we could come out later that afternoon if that would work for her.  She suggested that we call her when we were about to take a train.  Unfortunately, because it was Sunday, we couldn't find anywhere to get a sim card for M's cell phone.  We also couldn't find a functioning pay phone so we just ended up hopping on a train.  After a series of pay phones that ate our money or didn't work once we arrived in Padua, we finally got a pay phone to work and arranged to meet M's cousin at a cafe.

Well, M. didn't actually catch the name of the place where we were supposed to meet her, but knew that it was toward the historic center of town.  So we started walking from the train station.  It was hot and humid and we were lost.  Since we didn't actually know the name of the cafe, we couldn't ask anyone directions.  And I was starting to get kinda pissed off, even as I was noticing how bike-friendly the city seemed to be.

After a while, we gave up and found another payphone to call from.  Once we were finally able to meet up, we had a wonderful time.  We had a glass of Prosecco on a terrace.  Then walked around some.  We had another glass of Prosecco on another terrace.

Then, we walked around some more.  Since it was Sunday evening, most of the sites were closed, but it was nice to see the city with an almost-local.

(The Observatory)

We ended the evening with a nice dinner in the main piazza with a beautiful view of the clocktower as night fell.  M's cousin also introduced us to our favorite gelato chain of the trip: Grom.  (Grom, as well as my beloved Jeni's ice cream, were recently mentioned in a NY Times article about gourmet ice cream.)  The combination of raspberry and lemon was so amazing!

I wish we could have spent a bit more time in Padua, but we had to catch a train back to Venice.  I'll have to visit again some day.  But now, in the meantime, I can't stop thinking about gelato....  What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?  Do you have a favorite brand? 

Travels: Venice, Part I

A month ago my husband and I flew to Venice.  Our flights were long but fortunately otherwise uneventful.  I slept for about four hours on the plane.  M. didn't sleep at all - he never does on those transAtlantic flights.

We took the vaporetto from the airport to the San Marco stop and found our way to our hotel, which was nearby.  Our room wasn't ready yet, so we left our luggage there and walked around for a bit.  We found a place to eat lunch.  It looked like a modest and reasonably-priced place, but in Venice all things were expensive.  Our two cokes cost us 9 Euro and just sitting down at the table was another 6 Euro. 

After lunch we made our way back to our hotel.  Our room was ready, so we took showers and a nap.  Then we got up and strolled around Venice some more.  We had gelato for dinner.

We hoped that we'd be able to go to bed early and sleep through the night because we had a full day planned for the day after, including going to the Doge's Palace, the Chiesa dei Frari to see Titian's Assumption, and the Academia and taking a train to Padova to visit one of M's cousins.  Unfortunately, we both woke up in the middle of the night and spent several hours awake but exhausted. 

We were able to power through the next day, and enjoyed everything on our itinerary.  We also wised up to the fact that we were going to either blow all of our food budget on Venice or have to just grab sandwiches for lunch most days.   

Ever since I was a little girl I had wanted to see Venice, and I'm so glad that I did.  It is a really beautiful place (and it didn't smell bad, as I had heard), but it did make me feel sad and hollow in a certain way.  We did occasionally see people walking their dogs or carrying groceries through the narrow streets and up the bridges to cross the canals.  But Venice is a city that is dying; its population has been shrinking for decades.  Before long it will be a ghostly amusement park of a city - full of tourists and shops and expensive eateries, no doubt, but devoid of real daily life.

Running Somewhere Else: Florence, Italy

Although I wasn't able to run as much as I would have liked during our trip to Italy, I did squeeze my travel-swollen and blistered feet into my running shoes for an early morning run the first day we were in Florence.

I had hoped to run in Venice, but I was still too jet lagged.  I wanted to run in Siena, but... well, I'll share those demons with you later....  Florence at 6:30am on a Thursday, though, was perfect for a little 3 mile run down to the Ponte Vecchio and down by the Arno river and back.  It was early so I didn't have to share the walks/streets with too many other people or cars.  I did see a few people out and about their business and a few other runners.

On my way down to the river, I ran by Florence's cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore.  Later that day, I climbed its 460 odd steps to the top of its dome to enjoy the amazing views of the city. 

I ran across the Ponte Vecchio, Florence's medieval bridge, crossing the Arno River.  Then I stopped to take a ridiculous myspace-profile-picture-style shot of myself, sweating it up in the Tuscan morning sun and humidity.

I continued my merry way along the river.  Since my Garmin didn't pick up a satelite in the narrow street where our hotel was situated and I gave up on waiting for it and just started running, I'm not sure exactly how far I ran.  Somewhere along the way it picked up a signal, but not until I'd been running four or five minutes.  I estimate that I ran about a mile and a half before I turned around and retraced my steps back to our hotel.  I got a better picture of the cathedral with dome and campanella on my way back.

Florence was just as beautiful as I remembered it from my trip there at the beginning of 2007.  I'm so glad that I got to experience it as part of my honeymoon and by running through its streets and along the river that flows through it!  

Venice -> Sienna -> Florence -> Rome

I'm off to enjoy ten days in Italy with my husband.  We're off to the airport in a few minutes, and I'm so excited about what's on the other side.  My husband has been to Venice before, but I haven't.  It's one of the places I've always wanted to go, so I'm thrilled that I can add it to my list.  And I've heard that Sienna is a dream.  I'm also really excited about seeing Rome and Florence again!

 I plan to take lots of photos, eat lots of risotto and gelato, do lots of walking hand-in-hand with my husband, and do a little bit of running.  I'm taking a break from work and from the internets (I'm terribly addicted to them!), so I'll see you on the other side.